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Nebamun
Nebamun: 18 year old, Aasimar, Divine Soul Sorcerer Nebamun was born 18 years ago in Kemet, a small fishing village on the Sword Coast located south of Waterdeep. The villagers of Kemet had long assumed the boy's mother, Akasha, was barren because her frequent dalliances with travelers and restless neighbors had never produced a child (though it did provide her with a steady influx of coin.) Yet they were surprised when one day Akasha's belly began to swell with new life (though not a small number of the men worried that one of them had sired the bastard child.) But Akasha never spoke of the baby's father, and most assumed she had little idea of his identity herself. They were wrong. Despite Akasha's humble station, the lithe woman had encountered Lathander in one of his mortal guises and seduced the god of birth and vitality. The union blessed her with the child she had secretly desired for so long, and the god assured her that the boy's life would be extraordinary. She agreed, knowing that his conception itself was a miracle. She ultimately gave birth to a healthy child of milky skin and brown eyes, with sandy hair that matched the beaches of the Trackless Sea. Though he looked no different from any other human, because of Nebamun's divine parentage he had been born an Aasimar. Akasha raised Nebamun on her own, which suited the young boy: he loved his mother and saw no flaws in her sometimes questionable lifestyle. His divine father Lathander visited the young boy only once every year on his birthday to commemorate the gift he'd given to Akasha. Though he treated the boy and his mother with affection, he never exhibited any emotion that would be mistaken as love. Indeed, Nebamun's annual request for a birthday gift would go unheeded, as Lathander reminded him that his very existence was a gift of the greatest magnitude. Thus, Nebabum went through his adolescent years, impoverished but happy with Akasha. That simple happiness ended two weeks ago when Kemet was raided by bandits who were pillaging the Sword Coast. Akasha's wealthier neighbors gladly handed over their valuables to secure their safety, but the corsairs were enraged when Akasha had no money to offer that would slake their greed. They refused to leave her hovel without some recompense: the bandits bound Nebamun in the home then dragged his mother into the street to publicly ravish her as a warning to those who could not or would not pay tribute. Desperate to save his mother, Nebamun struggled against his bonds and cried out for Lathander to deliver her from harm. But there was no answer. As always, Lathander would not acknowledge Nebamun outside the annual celebration of his birth. Nebamun whimpered that he would do "Anything" to save his mother. The room darkened briefly and a bleached skull materialized before him, suspended in the air. It had no jaw, but words emanated from it nonetheless: "Anything?" it asked. Nebamun was terrified and confused. "Father?" The skull seemed to pulse. "No. Has your father not abandoned you, young Nebamun? He hears the pleas of you and your mother, yet he does nothing. But I have heard you. I am Cyric, and I will give you the power to destroy your enemies. All I ask is that you accept this gift." Nebamun hesitated until he heard the shrill screams of Akasha from the street. "Yes! Please! I accept!" The skull cackled. "It is done." The skull disappeared and Nebamun's flesh began to smoke: the ropes that bound him caught fire and fell away. He howled as searing hot fire swept across his body and burnt away his clothes. His pale skin blackened as he stumbled into the street, where the raiders and surviving villagers looked on in horror. The stone street buckled and warped beneath the heat of his body as he ran towards his mother, but with every step more fire radiated from his body. Just as he neared his mother, magical energy burst from his body: in an instant, the explosive force decimated Kemet and killed everyone, raider and villager alike. Though the moment quickly faded, Nebamun still registered how undeniably ''good ''it had felt to destroy his enemies, despite the enormous price. The heat dissipated from Nebamun's body as he tried to grasp what had happened. He reached for the charred skeleton of his mother but did not recognize the sight of his own hand. He dug around the rubble of Kemet and found a mirror but did not recognize himself: his skin was like smooth obsidian and every hair on his body had been burnt away. His eyes were solid orbs of gold. Nebamun fled to a nearby town for aid. Though he was given rations and clothing, the temple denied him entry: he begged for a cleric to resurrect his mother and neighbors, but none would help him: they believed this blackened child was cursed and sent him away. Though he was dejected, he refused to give up hope. In the local tavern, he heard rumors that the temple could not help Nebamun even if the clerics had wanted: it seemed some strange force was preventing the dead from returning to life, and those who had been resurrected in the past were wasting away. Nebamun also heard rumors that a powerful benefactor in Waterdeep was gathering adventurers to uncover the mystery. Nebamun has come to Waterdeep to meet this powerful benefactor and to do whatever it takes to lift the curse that is halting resurrection so he can restore Akasha and the people of Kemet to atone for his rash mistake. He also hopes to gain more understanding of the strange magical power that he unleashed in Kemet, and to reign in the strange compulsion he feels to use it more and more. Category:Player Characters